Cooled tube support



Jan. 6, 1942. w. VAGT COOLED TUBE SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 26 1940 i/ifloooooo 1000000 COOL/N6 COOL/N6 INVEN'IOR.

Jan. 6, 1942. w. VAGT COOLED TUBE SUPPORT Filed Nov. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CCO 000 000 000 000 O00 O00 000 O00 O00 ooo 70/ 70/ INVENTOR. WALTER mar Patented Jan. 6, 1942 Walter Vagt Berlin-Froh-nau,

or to The LaMont Corporation,

Application November v In Germany Germany, assign- New 1 York,

26, I940, Serial'No. 367,171 ore :1 Y

4- Claims. (01. 25%:1

The invention relates to heat exchange apparatus and particularly to means for supporting heat absorbing elements in gas passes of boilers or the like.

Water cooled beams have heretofore been utilized in boilers, including those of the forced circulation type, to support or suspend heat absorbing surfaces within gas passes of the boiler and the working medium of the boiler has served as the cooling fluid. These beams were often arranged without support within the gas pass and in large boilers this resulted in very long beams, requiring a substantial increase in the cross sectional area of the beams in order to meet the resisting moment.

The invention proposes to construct carrying beams of relatively great length and support them at one or several places by means of water cooled tubes and to hang the latter from an unheated carrier or carriers that lie in a cool temperature zone. This permits the use of supporting beams with relatively small cross sectional area, even in the case of long beams.

Illustrative forms of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings wherein;

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a gas pass of a boiler having heat absorbing elements supported by a fluid cooled beam arranged in accordance with the present invention;

Figures 2 and 3 show modified arrangements; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 in Fig. 3.

Referring first to Fig. 1, heat absorbing elements l forming part of a boiler or the like are located in a gas pass I I. The lowermost row of tubes is directly supported from below by a hollow beam l2 extending horizontally across the gas pass. The tubes in rows above the lowermost one are supported from the latter as a result of being interconnected by means of return bends or headers or tube plates at their ends as is customary. The beam I2 is itself supported at both ends in the walls [3 by beams [4. It is also supported at several intermediate points by water cooled tubes ll: of inverted U- shape which in turn are supported by the beams l6 located outside of the pass of the heating gases. The supporting beam I2 is interiorly subdivided by partitions l1 into several chambers and the ends of the looped tubes l are connected thereto so as to place adjacent chambers in communication. Beam I2 is connected at one end by pipe 20 to a source of water supply and this cooling medium entering one end flows sequentially through the first chamber of beam l2 thence through tubes l5 from chamber to chamber and finally is discharged from beam l2 via pipe 2|. The fluid may then be led to a drum or be carried on to cool other supporting beams and their suspension tubes. It is not necessary that the supporting beam l2 as shown in the drawings be made of a continuous piece subdivided by partitions; it may be made of several individual parts which may be arranged in alinement, above, or aside of one another, each being connected to one of the branches of a U-. shaped tube. When several separate parts are utilized the outer sections would be supported at their outer-ends within the walls l3.

Fig, 2 shows another embodiment of the invention, wherein the free inner ends of the two hollow supporting beams 30 andv 3| are supported by the tubes 32 which may be directly connected at their upper ends to a drum 33. This arrangement has the further advantage that the cooling medium moves only' upwardly through the portion exposed to heat and consequently protects the supporting beams by continuing to flow by natural circulation in case the forced circulation fails.

A further embodiment is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The hollow supporting beam 40 rests in night or loop portions 4| at the lower ends of parallel sections 42 of a water cooled tube 43 which in turn is hung from beams l6. One end of tube 43 is connected to the source of cooling medium which flows first through this tube and then through the supporting beam 40 to which the other end of the tube is connected. This arporting beam is greater than that of the suspension tube 43 since the volume of the cooling medium becomes greater in the direction of flow, due to heat absorption. By the increase in'cross sectional area in the last part of. the fluid circuit the pressure drop through the tube system may be reduced and because of the larger volume of the cooling medium a sufficient velocity is attained to adequately cool the supporting beams.

What I claim is:

1. In a heat exchanger having a gas pass, horizontally disposed heat absorbing elements located therein, a horizontally disposed, hollow, beam-like member extending transversely of said pass beneath said elements and so arranged as to form a subjacent support for said elements, and connections for delivering a cooling fluid to and taking it from said member; other supporting means located above said elements; and generally U-shaped tubular fluid circulating elements depending substantially vertically from said supporting means and engaging said member at spaced points thereof within said pass so as to afford support thereto.

2. Cooled supporting means as recited in claim 1 wherein said tubular fluid circulating means is in the form of a generally U-shaped looped eleporting means located above said elements; and

tubular fluid circulating means comprising generally U-shaped elements arranged in inverted relation with their loops or bights thereof en-' gaged about said supporting means for suspension therefrom and the ends of the legs of the U connected to said beam-like member,

4. In a heat exchanger having a gas pass, heat absorbing elements located therein, a horizontally disposed, hollow, beam-like member extending transversely of said pass beneath said elements and so arranged as to support the latter, and connections for delivering a cooling fluid to and taking it from said member; other supporting means located above said elements; and partitions dividing said hollow member internally at longitudinally spaced points to form a number of chambers; and tubular fluid circulating elements in the form of inverted U-shaped elements having respective legs thereof connected to adjacent chambers for providing continuous fluid flow between said chambers through said tubular means.

WALTER VAGT 

